What's wrong with the diet? Physiological component of the diet.

Chapter 27. Can genes control our lives?

What we explore: What effect does belief in gene control have on behavior?

What's new: What conclusions have geneticists made regarding the belief in an obesity gene?

What we will learn: What is the correct attitude towards belief in gene control?

1. If the genomic revolution is making you anxious and you can't cope with the onslaught of new information, you're not alone. Nevertheless, we are convinced of the ability of genes to control our lives. We are genetic fatalists (Heine S. 2019) [1].

2. Genomic revolution. Before moving on to the topic of this chapter, we need to clear up some misconceptions about the genomic revolution. They arose from a misunderstanding of the difference between a scientific hypothesis and knowledge confirmed by experimental research. The result is a distortion of revolutionary discoveries in genetics. These distorted ideas have a significant impact on people's behavior, which ultimately causes significant harm to the human psyche and body. Therefore, we need to gain a true understanding of the remarkable discoveries of genetics. One common misconception is genetic fatalism * ("the ability of genes to control our lives").

* Fatalism (Fatalismus; from Latin Fatalis - "determined by fate") - belief in fate, a worldview according to which everything should happen the way blind fate (fatum) wants it, and a person cannot change anything in this fate [2].

3. Gene control. The girl stopped taking care of her body because she was sure that she inherited the genes for obesity from her obese mother and aunt. The fat young man was used to eating a lot of tasty food because in their family the men always ate tasty and a lot. He suggests that this habit was passed on to him through genes from men on his father's side. Some young people believe that they were given a gender that does not correspond to their inner feelings. Therefore, they hate their gender and their body and as a result change their social role, name on their passport, legal identity, and in some cases undergo sex reassignment surgery (transgender). Other people who become lesbian, gay, bisexual, and, transgender, are usually referred to by the acronym LGBT. They believe that their gender role and sexual behavior are explained by genes [1, 3]. What unites the above categories of people? They are united by the belief that genes control such behavior. Their fatalism leads them to believe that genes and genes alone are responsible for the behavior that results in obesity, the habit of eating a lot regardless of need, gender nonconformity, and sexual orientation. What caused their genetic fatalism?

* Gene(s) (ancient Greek γένος - (genos) genus, birth, origin) - a structural and functional unit of heredity that controls the formation of any trait, which is a segment of a deoxyribonucleic acid molecule [DNA, ed., author] [4].

4. The cause of genetic fatalism. In April 2003, an outstanding event took place in the world of science. For the first time, geneticists were able to completely decipher the human genome. However, three years before this event, on June 26, 2000, in the White House, American President W.D. Clinton gave a speech about a significant discovery in the field of genetics. Two eminent molecular biologists Francis Collins and Craig Venter spoke with him. Their speeches were dedicated to a revolutionary breakthrough in genetics - deciphering the biological basis of human life. Then the scientists presented a "working version" of the human genome map. Using diagrams, the sequence of 97% of all letters of the gene code was clearly shown. President Clinton and these two scientists called this deciphered human genome the "Book of Life." Based on this discovery, many began to believe that it was now possible to read like a book the hidden secrets of a person's individuality: